1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of near field communication, and more particularly to a near field communication mimic device and method of use.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems interact with a wide variety of peripherals to perform functions. Traditionally, information handling systems interfaced with peripherals through cables and communicated with the peripherals using customized driver software. Over time, many peripheral devices adopted standardized communication protocols and cables so that end users could more readily interact with peripheral devices. One example of a common peripheral device is a display, which presents visual information generated by an information handling system as images. Displays have progressed from analog interfaces, such as VGA cables, to digital interfaces that communicate over serial links, such as DVI and DisplayPort cables, and more recently to wireless interfaces that do not use cables at all. Projectors are essentially a type of display that typically interacts with information handling systems in the same manner as other displays. Other examples of peripheral devices that interact with information handling systems include printers, scanners, network devices, cameras, etc. . . . Many of these peripherals interface with information handling systems through standardized cables, such as USB cables, as well as through wireless interfaces, such as IEEE 802.11 (a-n) interfaces, Bluetooth interfaces or other similar “Wi-Fi” interfaces.
Often information handling systems automatically interact with peripheral devices by detecting that a cable has plugged into a port of the information handling system and responding with a handshake that initiates operation of the peripheral device. Wireless peripheral interfaces have improved the convenience of interacting with peripheral devices by removing the need for a cable to communicate between information handling systems and peripheral devices, however, the lack of an automated response provided through a cable can make establishing communication more difficult. In addition, wireless interfaces that are not secured by a key or other password may present security issues since the wireless signals may be intercepted by unauthorized users. One solution for establishing a secure wireless interface between an information handling system and a peripheral is to include a near field communication (NFC) device in the information handling system and peripheral to exchange interface information for establishing the wireless interface.
NFC generally relates to a set of standards initially developed for smartphones. The NFC forum defined standards to establish radio communication between smartphones by touching the smartphones together or bringing the smartphones in close proximity to each other, such as within a few centimeters of each other. NFC devices allow contact free transactions and data exchange between each other. One advantageous use of NFC devices is to provide a simplified setup of more complex communication channels, such as a Wi-Fi communication channel between an information handling system and a peripheral, such as a display, projector, printer, scanner, etc. . . . The NFC Forum standards cover communication protocols and data exchange formats based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID) standards. NFC devices allow two-way communication between endpoints, although unpowered NFC “tags” can also be read by powered NFC devices. In a passive communication mode, an initiator device provides a carrier field that the target device answers by modulating the existing field. In the passive mode, if the target device is an unpowered tag, it may draw its operating power from the initiator-provided electromagnetic field. In an active communication mode, both the initiator and target devices communicate by alternatively generating their own fields, typically with each device having its own power source.
One difficulty with NFC devices is that information handling systems and peripherals sometimes have larger-sized housings that are difficult to bring into close proximity with each other. End users who seek to use embedded NFC devices to establish a Wi-Fi interface between an information handling system and peripheral sometimes have to hold one or both of the housings in awkward positions in order to obtain the proximity necessary for exchanging information. In addition, end users sometimes have to arrange peripherals in inconvenient positions in order to have access to NFC devices within the peripherals.